We’re getting near the part of the season where every game involves a heavy dose of scoreboard watching. Teams not only need their two points, but some help from other teams to either grab a playoff spot or take a better playoff position headed into the post season. We’re going to start updating the playoff picture daily here on Pro Hockey Talk, starting today as we gear up for matchup between the Boston Bruins and New York Rangers, two teams fighting for the final spot in the East.

After the jump, the standings of the Eastern and Western conferences, as well as some thoughts on each.

Western Conference

DIV

GP

W

L

OT

Pts

GF

GA

DIFF

Home

Away

L10

Streak

1

Chicago Blackhawks

CEN

71

45

19

7

97

234

179

+55

26-7-3

19-12-4

4-4-2

2

San Jose Sharks

PAC

71

43

18

10

96

231

187

+44

22-6-8

21-12-2

3-6-1

Lost 4

3

Vancouver Canucks

NW

72

44

24

4

92

236

187

+49

26-8-2

18-16-2

6-2-2

4

Phoenix Coyotes

PAC

72

45

22

5

95

198

177

+21

26-10-2

19-12-3

8-2-0

Won 8

5

Los Angeles Kings

PAC

70

41

24

5

87

207

185

+22

20-12-3

21-12-2

5-4-1

Won 1

6

Nashville Predators

CEN

72

41

26

5

87

203

201

+2

21-12-2

20-14-3

7-3-0

Won 5

7

Colorado Avalanche

NW

70

40

24

6

86

211

185

+26

22-11-2

18-13-4

5-5-0

Lost 1

8

Detroit Red Wings

CEN

71

35

23

13

83

193

192

+1

19-10-5

16-13-8

7-2-1

Won 1

9

Calgary Flames

NW

71

36

26

9

81

181

177

+4

18-16-3

18-10-6

7-3-0

Won 2

10

St Louis Blues

CEN

71

34

28

9

77

194

196

-2

12-17-5

22-11-4

7-3-0

Won 2

11

Dallas Stars

PAC

71

31

27

13

75

206

227

-21

20-10-6

11-17-7

3-6-1

Won 1

There are three big races right now, that will have a major impact on the playoff picture in the West. First, the Chicago Blackhawks have been able to — somehow — overcome the San Jose Sharks for the lead in the conference. Thanks to the Sharks’ unseemly losing streak, they’ve opened the door for a three-way battle for tops in the West that includes…. the Phoenix Coyotes.

Yes, the franchise and team that was the laughing stock of the sports world last summer has now snuck into the picture for the No. 1 seed in the West, riding an incredible eight-game winning streak. A win today against the Dallas Stars — coupled with a San Jose loss to Edmonton — and the Coyotes could find themselves in first place in the West. Incredible.

The other race is towards the bottom of the conference, with the Detroit Red Wings trying to hold off the Calgary Flames. Mathematically, this is the closest race but they also have St. Louis and Dallas still within shooting distance as well. The Stars are too inconsistent to put together the sort of streak needed to be considered seriously, but a losing streak of any kind by those above them and it’s certainly a possibility. The Red Wings have a chance to open up their lead today, as they take on the Pittsburgh Penguins.

Eastern Conference

DIV

GP

W

L

OT

Pts

GF

GA

DIFF

Home

Away

L10

Streak

1

Washington Capitals

SE

72

48

14

10

106

283

203

+80

26-4-4

22-10-6

7-1-2

Won 1

2

Pittsburgh Penguins

ATL

72

42

24

6

90

224

205

+19

21-10-4

21-14-2

6-2-2

3

Buffalo Sabres

NE

70

38

22

10

86

195

177

+18

21-9-6

17-13-4

5-4-1

Won 2

4

New Jersey Devils

ATL

71

42

25

4

88

189

169

+20

24-10-1

18-15-3

5-4-1

Lost 1

5

Philadelphia Flyers

ATL

71

37

29

5

79

211

196

+15

21-12-2

16-17-3

4-4-2

Lost 1

6

Ottawa Senators

NE

72

37

30

5

79

194

212

-18

23-10-4

14-20-1

2-7-1

Lost 5

7

Montréal Canadiens

NE

72

36

29

7

79

196

198

-2

18-13-4

18-16-3

7-2-1

8

Boston Bruins

NE

70

31

27

12

74

174

180

-6

14-14-6

17-13-6

4-5-1

Lost 1

9

Atlanta Thrashers

SE

71

31

29

11

73

215

229

-14

18-13-5

13-16-6

4-5-1

Won 3

10

New York Rangers

ATL

71

31

31

9

71

185

195

-10

15-17-6

16-14-3

4-4-2

Lost 2

11

Carolina Hurricanes

SE

71

30

33

8

68

198

221

-23

19-14-3

11-19-5

6-3-1

Won 2

Currently, the Washington Capitals are the only team that’s locked up a division title, but the Sabres have a good firm grasp on their lead in the Northeast division; I doubt the Ottawa Senators are going to go off on any sort of winning streak anytime soon. The Capitals also have a good firm lockdown on the No. 1 spot in the conference.

There are still some good races to keep an eye on. The Penguins, thanks to an overtime loss to the Hurricanes yesterday, have opened up a shot for the New Jersey Devils to take over the lead in the Atlantic division, although New Jersey was shutout yesterday against St. Louis as they failed to take advantage of Pittsburgh’s slip. Neither team plays today.

Finally, we have the most intriguing race in the NHL. Everyone’s attention has been on the battle between New York and Boston for 8th in the conference, all the while the Atlanta Thrashers have snuck into the picture and threaten to knock both out of the playoffs. The Rangers and Bruins have been amazing to watch, as they’ve stumbled and struggled to even muster a fight when the opportunity arises to make a move.

Don’t take your eyes off the Ottawa Senators, however. They’re historic fall could take them out of the playoffs, opening up the chance for two of the Atlanta, New York and Boston trio to make the playoffs. And then, most likely, get promptly ousted by the Washington Capitals.

The New York Islanders made a splash on Friday, signing veteran forward Cal Clutterbuck to a five-year, $17.5 million extension — one that carries a $3.5 million average annual cap hit through 2023.

Clutterbuck, 29, has two goals and nine points through 25 games this year, while averaging 15:26 TOI per night (his highest average since joining the Isles four years ago). As per usual, he leads the club in hits — one of the staples of his game — and serves as one of the club’s alternate captains.

This new contract represents a nice raise for the former Minnesota Wild man. His last contract, set to expire in July, was of the four-year, $11 million variety, and carried a $2.75 million cap hit.

This contract also resembles the one GM Garth Snow gave another of the club’s role forwards. This summer, Casey Cizikas signed a five-year, $16.75 million extension — one with a $3.35 million hit — despite the fact he’d never scored more than 30 points in a season, or averaged more than 14 minutes of ice time.

This style of spending — along with splashes made for free agent disappointments Jason Chimera and Andrew Ladd — is sure to raise some questions. The Isles opted not to spend that money on retaining two of their key players from a season ago, Frans Nielsen and Kyle Okposo, and the club has struggled to find its form through the first quarter of this year.

“We’re not going to give out any numbers now,” NHL commissioner Gary Bettman said yesterday, per Yahoo Sports. “The cap could range from where it is now to a couple or so million up, but we’re all going to have to focus on what makes the most sense moving forward.”

The salary cap only went up slightly for the current season, from $71.4 million to $73 million. The only slight increase was due to the lower Canadian dollar, which negatively impacted last season’s league revenues by “$100 or 200 million,” Bettman said earlier this year.

The loonie has been holding relatively steady for around half a year. It’s currently worth $0.76 USD and has been helped by the recent oil rally.

A flat salary cap would be bad news for big spenders like the Chicago Blackhawks, who still need to get Artemi Panarin signed to an extension. The Los Angeles Kings could also be forced to make some tough decisions, as they’ve got Tyler Toffoli and Tanner Pearson in need of new deals. Ditto for the Pittsburgh Penguins, who have key RFAs in Brian Dumoulin, Justin Schultz, and Conor Sheary.

Henrik Lundqvist has set such a high bar that his 12-8-1 record with a .912 save percentage is cause for great concern these days in New York.

That his backup, Antti Raanta, is 6-1-0 with a .932 save percentage only contributes to that concern, because if Raanta can manage those numbers, what’s Lundqvist’s excuse?

“I feel like I’m tracking the puck well, moving well,” Lundqvist told the Daily News. “It just comes down to some bad decisions at times that cost me.”

Indeed, December has not started well for The King. He’s allowed 10 goals in three starts for a save percentage of .894. In Tuesday’s 4-2 loss to the Islanders, his decision to poke check a loose puck led to the winning goal by Andrew Ladd.